SEC Warns Investors About Paid-to-Click Scams

The Securities and Exchange Commission is warning investors to beware online “paid-to-click” scams that promise an easy payday by merely purchasing a membership or an advertising product up front and then clicking on a certain number of online ads each…

SEC Charges Biotech Company, Executives With Accounting Fraud

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a Maryland-based biotech company and four former top executives with prioritizing revenue growth over lawful accounting and misleading investors in the process.

The SEC alleges that Osiris Therapeut…

Charles Cain Named Chief of Foreign Corrupt Practices Unit

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Charles E. Cain has been named chief of the Enforcement Division’s national specialized Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) Unit that focuses on violations of the anti-bribery provisions of t…

David Glockner, Regional Director of Chicago Office, to Leave SEC

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that David Glockner, Director of the Chicago Regional Office, is planning to leave the agency later this month.

Since late 2013, Mr. Glockner has led a staff of approximately 270 enforcement attor…

Petroleum Engineer Settles Charges of Insider Trading Ahead of Oil Discovery Announcement

A petroleum engineer who worked at Texas-based energy company Apache Corporation has agreed to settle SEC charges that he conducted insider trading ahead of a market-moving announcement about the company’s discovery of a significant new oil source.

Th…

Millennium Settles Charges of Illegal Short Selling in Advance of Stock Offerings

Investment advisory firm Millennium Management LLC has agreed to pay more than $630,000 to settle charges that it shorted U.S. stocks in companies planning follow-on offerings and then illegally bought shares in the follow-on offerings.   

An SEC inve…

Day Trader Charged in Brokerage Account Takeover Scheme

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a day trader based in the Philadelphia area with participating in a scheme to access the brokerage accounts of more than 100 unwitting victims and make unauthorized trades to artificially affect the …

SEC Names Peter B. Driscoll as Director of the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Peter B. Driscoll has been named Director of the agency’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE).  Mr. Driscoll has served as OCIE’s Acting Director since January 2017.

OC…

SEC Announces Measures to Facilitate Cross-Border Implementation of the European Union’s MiFID II’s Research Provisions

Today, following consultation with European authorities, and in response to concerns that investors could lose access to valuable research, the staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued three related no-action letters. These letters…

Former Private Equity Firm Partner Charged With Secretly Billing Clients for His Vacations and Salon Visits

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Mohammed Ali Rashid, a former senior partner at Apollo Management L.P., with defrauding his fund clients by secretly billing them for approximately $290,000 in personal expenditures, including his fa…

SEC Names Brett Redfearn as Director of the Division of Trading and Markets

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Brett Redfearn has been named Director of the agency’s Division of Trading and Markets.

The SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets establishes and maintains standards for fair, orderly, and efficient markets. The division oversees the major securities market participants and infrastructure including, among others, broker-dealers, self-regulatory organizations (including stock exchanges, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, and clearing agencies), alternative trading systems, and transfer agents.

“Brett’s extensive markets experience and his longstanding, active engagement with investors, financial services firms, exchanges, and the SEC make him exceptionally well positioned to lead the Division of Trading and Markets,” said Chairman Jay Clayton. “Brett has been a thought leader on a wide range of issues facing our rapidly changing capital markets, and I know he will continuously ask the question, ‘are our markets best serving the long-term interests of the investing public?'”

Mr. Redfearn added, “I have always been impressed with the level of dedication of the Trading and Markets team and feel honored to be asked to take on this important role at this critical juncture in the evolution of our securities markets.”

Mr. Redfearn has a long history in the U.S. equity markets, having worked with investors, exchanges and broker-dealers. During his career, Mr. Redfearn has focused on how technology, regulation and business trends are changing trading patterns across asset classes and geographic regions. He has helped build electronic trading products, worked closely with exchanges and other trading venues as these products evolved, and engaged with global asset managers on major regulatory developments. He has also been a frequent contributor at policy forums surrounding U.S. equity markets, and has been an active participant at several meetings of the SEC’s Equity Market Structure Advisory Committee.

Mr. Redfearn joins the SEC from J.P. Morgan, where he was Global Head of Market Structure for the Corporate & Investment Bank. He started his career at the American Stock Exchange, where he ran Business Strategy and Equity Order Flow. During his career, Mr. Redfearn has served on the boards of Bats Global Markets, the Chicago Stock Exchange, BIDS Trading, and the National Organization of Investment Professionals.

Mr. Redfearn earned his M.A. in Political Science from the New School for Social Research and his B.A. from the Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. 

SEC Names Brett Redfearn as Director of the Division of Trading and Markets

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Brett Redfearn has been named Director of the agency’s Division of Trading and Markets.

The SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets establishes and maintains standards for fair, orderly, and ef…